The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP) has released its quality control standards and therapeutic compendium for the popular botanical dietary supplement dong quai, or, as it is known in Pinyin, dang gui (Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, Apiaceae). Each monograph sets national standards to assure authenticity, purity, and quality control. The Therapeutic Compendium section provides a complete and critical review of the current pharmacological and safety data.

Dang gui is one of the most popular Chinese herbal medicines, known for its use in the treatment of a wide variety of gynecological conditions that are generally not easily treated with conventional therapies, such as uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, and infertility.

"Dang gui is especially important because it fills a therapeutic niche not readily addressed in Western conventional or herbal medicine," said Roy Upton, AHP executive director. "It has been used successfully for several hundred years for a broad range of gynecological conditions and can help broaden therapeutic options for women beyond hormone replacement therapies and hysterectomies. Hopefully, increased use of dang gui and its appropriate formulas will help to eliminate at least a portion of the 600,000+ hysterectomies performed annually in America."

Like all Chinese herbs, there are many different grades and qualities of dang gui. This monograph provides the information necessary for sourcing high quality material.

This monograph is the 17th in an expanding series produced by AHP. Each monograph provides a thorough critical review of all aspects of the plant and reliable information regarding the therapeutic potential and safety of the herb to guide educated decisions about its use. The dang gui monograph is available for $19.95 (plus shipping and handling) through AHP. The entire series is also available for purchase individually or as a set from the American Botanical Council (ABC's Herbal Education Catalog is at the back of this issue and online at <www.herbalgram.org>).

[Source: American Herbal Pharmacopoeia Publishes Dang Gui Root (Angelica sinensis) Monograph [press release]. 2003 Jan 10.]